In this episode, Pete and Jeff consider the elements you need to consider when preparing a website for launch.

We're assuming you already have:

Unblock Search Engines
SEO Plugins & Basic Set Up
Business Details in Schema / SEO Plugin
301 Redirects of old URLs to new URLs
Site Title / Tagline (remove "Just another WordPress Website", etc)
Are Web and Home URLs updated to live site
Remove standard posts / hello world content
Make sure GA4 is installed
Make sure tracking codes are copied over from the previous site
Ensure all plugins / themes / wordpress updates are complete (even if they're not on a maintenance plan, you should hand the site over with 0 updates required).
Run an SEO Health Audit
Make sure there is only 1 H1 tag per page
Run a full check for any placeholder text
Make sure forms submit
Take payment gateway of of Test / Dev Mode (if applicable)
Check load times on all page templates are less than 3 seconds (absolute maximum)
Check Social Media links are correct
Confirm 404 page is set correctly
Ensure Cookies and Privacy Policies are correct / up-to-date
Install security plugin (like Wordfence of iThemes)
Check all contact forms go to the clients email address

Submit to Google Search Console (this might involved submitting a new (different) sitemap.xml URL
Make sure SSL Certificate is installed
Set up Instant Indexing for Bing and Google
Set up maintenance plan (if the client has signed up)
Send Website Owners Manual (with agreement for maintenance plan if they're not signed up already)
Ensure all licensed plugins have the new (live) domain authenticated on them

004 – How to Launch a Website Properly 46:39 Share

The WP SEO Show – Demystifying SEO for WordPress Websites